Samsung is saying goodbye its namesake texting app. According to an end of service announcement published on the tech giant's U.S. support website, Samsung Messages will be discontinued in July. Impacted owners of Samsung smartphones and other gadgets are being asked to switch to Google Messages as their default in the meantime. The company says this will help maintain a consistent messaging experience on Android. All Samsung Galaxy phones run on Google's Android operating system. Users of older Android operating systems (dating back to Android 11 or older) will not be impacted.The Associated Press 

Samsung on Wednesday unveiled its latest Galaxy smartphones, which boast an even bigger toolbox of artificial intelligence technology than the previous two generations and introduce a new privacy shield that blocks snoopy bystanders from sneaking a peek at the display screen. The upgrades on the Galaxy S26 lineup, coming to stores March 11. will also include price increases of 10% to 13% on the basic and mid-tier models while the Ultra device will cost the same as last year's version. Samsung also is dangling another reason to pony up for its most expensive Galaxy S26 with a new feature called "Privacy Display" that will only be available on the Ultra.

Throngs of gamers stood in long lines outside of stores hours before they opened from Tokyo to New York City in hopes of snaring a long-awaited Nintendo Switch 2 video game console. Enthusiasts have been clamoring for an upgrade to Nintendo's eight-year-old predecessor for years. Nintendo, which is counting on the Switch 2 to boost sagging sales, has added new social features meant to lure players into online gaming. The new console, released Thursday, comes with a larger and higher resolution screen than its predecessor, with improved processing power, offering smoother and more vivid graphics.